YHBA
The Young Hoosier Book Award encourages Indiana students to read for fun. There are three levels of nominees: Picture Books (kindergarten-3rd grade), Intermediate (4th-6th grade), and Middle Grade (6th-8th grade).
Each year, teachers, students, parents and media specialists submit suggestions to the Young Hoosier Book Award committee through the Indiana Library Federation (ILF), who nominate twenty books in each category. Students read the books on the list and vote for their favorites. Votes are then tallied and the winning illustrator and authors are presented the award in the spring of the following year.
2024-25 YHBA Nominees
100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli by David LaRochelle
Bathe the Cat by Alice B. McGinty
Chester Van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme by Avery Monsen
Chickadee: Criminal Mastermind by Monica Silvie
Don’t Eat The Bees by Dev Petty
Figgy & Boone: Best Brother Ever by Janet TraslerI
Cannot Draw a Horse by Charise Mericle
Harper Kicks by Van G. Garrett
Knight Owl by Christopher Denise
My Pet Feet by Josh Funk
Pick Me! by Max Amato
Pigeon and Cat by Edward Hemingway
Piglet Comes Home: How a Deaf Blind Pink Puppy Found His Family by Melissa Shapira, DVM
Poopsie Gets Lost by Hannah Harrison
Punky Aloha by Shar Tuiasoa
Rick the Rock of Room 24 by Julie Falatko
Spoonful of Frogs by Casey Lyall
Watch Out for the Lion! by Brooke Hartman
Wombat Underground by Sarah Thomson
Yetis Are the Worst! by Alex Willan
Always Clementine by Carlie Sorosiak
Anglerfish: the Seadevil of the Deep by Elaine M. Alexander
Chupacarter by Ryan Calejo and George Lopez
The Curse on Spectacle Key by Chantel Acevedo
Eat Your Woolly Mammoths: Two Million Years of the World’s Most Amazing Food Facts from the Stone Age to the Future by James Solheim
Endlessly Ever After: Pick YOUR Path to Countless Fairy Tale Endings by Laurel Snyder
Falling Short by Ernesto Cisneros
The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett
Freestyle by Gale Galligan
Going Places: Victor Hugo and His Glorious Green Book by Tonya Bolden
Lia Park and the Missing Jewel by Jenna Yoon
Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game by Chris Grabenstein
Once Upon a Tim by Stuart Gibbs
Prunella and the Cursed Skull Ring by Matthew Loux
A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga
Shine on, Luz Velez by Rebecca Balcarcel
Simon B Rhymin’ by Dwayne Reed
Two-Headed Chicken by Tom Angelberger
The Unforgettable Logan Foster by Shawn Peters
Zara’s Rules for Record Breaking Fun by Hena Khan
Air by Monica Roe
The Clackity by Lora Senf
The Golden Hour by Nikki Smith
Grounded for All Eternity by Darcy Marcks
In the Key of Us by Mariama Lockington
Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
The Last Beekeeper by Pablo Cartaya
Lines of Courage by Jennifer Nielsen
The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh
Maizy Chen’s Last Chance by Lisa Yee
The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton
Plotting the Stars: Moongarden by Michelle Barry
Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkef
Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls by James Bird
Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting by Roseanne Brown
Shot Clock by Caron Butler and Justin Reynolds
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
Tumble by Celia Perez
What About Will by Ellen Hopkins
When the World Was Ours by Liz Kessler